Famous Visitors and Residents Bertrand Russell has been quoted as saying that one has only to sit in Portmeirion long enough and eventually the whole world comes by. Well, although that might be a slight exaggeration, nonetheless, Portmeirion has been home to many famous visitors over the years. This list is a short sample of them. Actor Michael York, Patrick McGoohan, Ingrid Bergman, Burt Lancaster, Elsa Lanchester, Stephen Fry, Brian Mosley (Coronation Street), Gareth Thomas (Blake's 7), Fabia Drake, Yvonne Arnaud, Alistair Sim Anatomist Sir Solly Zuckerman Architect Sir Charles Reilly, Lord Esher (Lionel Brett) Artist Sir Kenneth Clark Author H. G. Wells, Rose Macaulay, Daphne du Maurier, Sir Compton Mackenzie, Storm Jameson, Richard Hughes, John Steinbeck, Margaret Lane, Margharita Laski, Naomi Royde-Smith, J. B. S. Haldane, Denis Mackail, Naomi Mitchison, Arthur Koestler, Sir Arthur Bryant, Sir Julian Huxley, Margaret Irwin, Lewis Mumford, Lord Moyne (Bryan Guinness), Thomas Firbank, Sir Francis Oppenheimer, Guy Chapman, Doris Langley-Moore, Giles St. Aubyn, Olive Cook, Peter Mayne, Jonathan Mayne, Warwick Deeping, Cecil Woodham-Smith, Noel Annan, Ernest Hemingway, Rupert Crawshay-Williams, Jeremy Brooks, Fred Uhlman Boxer Henry Cooper Cartoonist Osbert Lancaster, Sir David Low Comedian Paul Merton, Stanley Unwin Editor Sir Laurence Weaver, Kingsley Martin, Graham Hutton, Richard Crossman, Alison Settle, Thor Heyerdahl Film critic Dilys Powell Film producer Roman Polanski Landscape architect Sylvia Crowe Musician Bob Geldorf Philosopher Bertrand Russell Physicist P. M. S. Blackett Playwright George Bernard Shaw, Noel Coward, John Osborne  Politician John Strachey, Lord Boothby, Robert Nicholls, A. P. Herbert, Desmond Donnelly Royalty King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, King Zog of Albania Singer Kate Bush, Mary Hopkins, Tom Jones, Gene Pitney, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Beatles and their manager Brian Epstein TV Personality Gilbert Harding Zoologist Peter Scott